Just An Observation

Now before you all tell me to RDWHAHB.
All is fine, Its just an observation
Im making a cider since last saturday, its in an ale pail. It is fermenting, i take readings & there is a layer of krausen.
But my question is about CO2. there is no airlock activity AT ALL and the lid is not pushed up. Am I wrong in thinking that co2 pushes oxygen out therefore putting upward pressure on the lid? I've checked that it is sealed fully, it is. As I said its just an observation but it seems odd to me.

OhCrap said:

Am I wrong in thinking that co2 pushes oxygen out therefore putting upward pressure on the lid? I've checked that it is sealed fully, it is.

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yes, fermentation creates some upward pressure on the lid, but not typically enough to make it bow/bend - the CO2 (or the O2 it is displacing) is finding some other way out of your bucket. it could be that despite feeling like the lid is on tight, there are still small gaps that are enough for gas to escape through. CO2 could be getting out around the air-lock, i.e. thought the grommet fixture that holds the airlock in place.

the lid would never be "pushed up" because the built up pressure would never get strong enough. it would exit through the airlock before it ever got that strong. if the airlock got clogged (blocked up) and you had a strong seal on the lid, then you might end up blowing off the lid.

if you have star-san or any other sanitizer, as an experiment you might try spraying some around the lip of the closed bucket and around the airlock. if there is a leak, you should see little bubbles appear when the sanitizer solution covers it.

Yep, either the gasket in the lid or the one around the air lock probably has a leak. If you've got krausen, you've got CO2 escaping.

Checked for leaks but none APPARENT. As I say it is fermenting, every other beer pushed the lid upwards (not excessively) that you could see it, I just thought this was interesting esp. bring 1st cider. Anyways its fermenting away n that's all that matters

OhCrap said:

Checked for leaks but none APPARENT. As I say it is fermenting, every other beer pushed the lid upwards (not excessively) that you could see it, I just thought this was interesting esp. bring 1st cider. Anyways its fermenting away n that's all that matters

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Yeah, the ciders I have done tend to ferment slow and steady as compared to a more vigorous ale fermentation (depending on the yeast, of course). I'll bet you a dollar when you are finished with this batch and clean that bucket and put it back together, you can blow through the air lock hole and air comes out under the lid gasket.

pabloj13 said:

Yeah, the ciders I have done tend to ferment slow and steady as compared to a more vigorous ale fermentation (depending on the yeast, of course). I'll bet you a dollar when you are finished with this batch and clean that bucket and put it back together, you can blow through the air lock hole and air comes out under the lid gasket.

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You're on!! I might try blowing before I clean it... You know just in case there's any tasty stuff left